Water Properties Notes

What are the properties of water?

Water us a solvent
Solvent- fluid that dissolves solutes
Solutes- substance dissolved in a solvent to

form a
solution.
Cohesion, Adhesion and Surface
Tension
cohesion = water attracted to other
water
molecules because of polar properties
adhesion = water attracted to other
materials
surface tension = water is pulled
together creating
the smallest surface area possible
Capillary Action
Because water has both adhesive and
cohesive properties, capillary action is
present.
Capillary Action = waters adhesive
property is the cause of capillary
action. Water is attracted to some
other material and then through
cohesion, other water molecules move
too as a result of the original
adhesion.
Ex: Think water in a straw
Ex: Water moves through trees this
way
High Heat Capacity
In order to raise the temperature of
water, the average molecular speed
has to increase.
It takes much more energy to raise the
temperature of water compared to

other solvents because hydrogen

bonds hold the water molecules
together!
Water has a high heat capacity.
The specific heat is the amount of
heat per unit mass required to raise
the temperature by one degree
Celsius.
Density
Water is less dense as a solid! This is
because the hydrogen bonds are
stable in ice each molecule of water
is bound to four of its neighbors.
Solid water molecules are bonded
together space between fixed
Liquid water molecules are
constantly bonding and rebonding
space is always changing
All the properties of water
Adhesion
Cohesion
Capillary action
High surface tension
Holds heat to regulate temperature
(High heat capacity)
Less dense as a solid than a liquid
Salinity
Salinity = total amount of solid
material dissolved in water
Can be determined by measuring
water conductivity
Typically expressed in parts per
thousand ()